North Lanarkshire Council elects first female provost

Herald Reporter

A Kilsyth councillor has been elected as the first female provost of North Lanarkshire Council.

Labour’s Jean Jones was appointed the role having been Jim Robertson’s depute for the last five years after seeing off the challenge of the SNP’s Jim Hume by 41 votes to 33.

Councillor Jones worked in local government at Strathclyde Regional and East Dunbartonshire councils beofre being elected in the Queenzieburn and Kilsyth West ward in 1999.

As she took office for the next five years she paid tribute to everyone who put her in that position.

Councillor Jones said: “I never took it for granted that I would go from being being depute provost up to provost because you never know is this day and age what can change.

“Jim Robertson was an excellent role model, he gave me a lot of jobs that the provost would normally do to give me, experience, the hard work as the depute provost has paid off and I want to thank my colleagues for putting their faith in me and I am extermely proud to be the first female provost in North Lanarkshire.

“However, most of all I want to thank the people of Kilsyth for reelecting me, when I was depute provost my favouriote jobs were always in Kilyth and the villages because you were meeting the people who put you there and my consituents wil always be first and foremost I will be working for them.”

Coatbridge South councillor Tom Castles, who was elected for the first time last month, becomes the new depute provost.